North Korea threat: China has a lot to lose, Madeleine Albright says

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on North Korea and President Trump's relationship with Germany's Angela Merkel and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

President Trump is meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in today in an effort to build a united front against the mounting nuclear threat from North Korea.

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“I think it is an extremely dangerous situation," said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in an interview with the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo. "I’m very glad that the new president of South Korea is coming here.”

The Trump administration has called for tougher sanctions against North Korea, with President Trump’s national security advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster saying the U.S. is preparing a range of options including a military response. On the other hand, Albright says the South Korean president has a different view on dealing with the potential threat from the north, saying “He does have a different approach, he wants to have more dialogue with North Korea.”

Though Albright hoped Trump would be open to what the South Korean president has to say, she agreed that it is a good strategy to look at all the potential strategies.

“I think it’s going to be very important for President Trump to listen to what the new president has to say and I also agree with what Gen. McMaster said which is that there really does have to be a look at all the options and it’s important to work with our friends and allies, the South Koreans, the Japanese, also to get the Chinese to do more.”

But when Bartiromo raised concerns that China really doesn’t want North Korea to change, Albright responded, “Well, there’s no reason to think that putting more pressure on the North Koreans will lead to the downfall of the whole place.”

Albright says China has a lot of leverage with North Korea, telling Bartiromo, “What is important is that the Chinese are the ones that are the biggest suppliers of a variety of products and goods and energy to the North Koreans.”

According to Albright, the Trump administration needs to show China the benefits of working with the U.S. to stop the threat from North Korea.